Even prior to the enactment of the
statute, a landlord would have been
required to disclose known or reasonably
suspected bedbug infestations under the
existing legal theories of fraudulent or
negligent concealment (the obligation to
disclose known material latent defects).
Arguably the statute may narrow a judge’s
interpretation of this disclosure obligation,
primarily by defi ning a reasonable period
of concern to 8 months, but also by reciting
the requirement of a tenant request.
Response Requirements
Once a bedbug infestation is reported
to the landlord (in writing, text or email)
a landlord must cause the unit to be
inspected by a Qualifi ed Inspector within
96 hours (four days). A Qualifi ed Inspector
is defi ned to be a “bed bug detection team,
local health department offi cial, certifi ed
operator, commercial applicator, qualifi ed
supervisor, or technician who is retained
by a landlord to conduct an inspection for
bed bugs.” While one might be tempted
to view an in-house maintenance person
as qualifying as a retained “technician”,
elsewhere in statutes dealing with
exterminator qualifi cations (C.R.S. 35-
10-103(13)) is clarifi cation for the need for
technicians to be licensed. Consequently,
neither the landlord nor a traditional
maintenance tech is qualifi ed to conduct
the required inspection.
The statute also requires 48-hour notice
prior to entry but provides that this notice
requirement can be waived by the tenant.
Any prudent landlord should include the
tenant’s waiver of 48-hour prior notice
in their lease or pest addendum, as given
the quick inspection mandate, extended
prior notice of entry will be impractical to
manage.
The landlord then must provide
notice of the inspection results within two
business days of the inspection. If bedbugs
are found, all continuous units must
be inspected promptly and appropriate
treatment must be commenced within fi ve
business days. As with previous legislation
on the issue, the outcome of the treatment
(success) is not dictated.
48 | TRENDS JANUARY 2020
Once a bedbug
WITHIN
infestation is reported...
a landlord must cause the
unit to be inspected by a
HOURS
Qualifi ed Inspector
96
There are some important tenant
requirements and landlord protections
in the statute. The tenant must promptly
provide notice of the bedbugs (written or
electronic). The tenant must allow entry and
cooperate with the treatment. The statute
contains a specifi c recital of no obligation to
provide alternative lodging or replacement
of personal property.
A landlord is required to pay for all
cost associated with bedbug treatment,
except in the case the tenant knowingly and
unreasonably fails to comply with inspection
and treatment requirements. Consequently,
the causation of the infestation is largely
irrelevant to who bears the cost of the
extermination response.
www.aamdhq.org